This is 18
by Ms. Perception
Summary: The continued journey of Rachel Berry, Noah Puckerman and their New Directions family as they handle new gleeks, old friendships, surprise siblings, love, a second run at Nationals and senior year. The sequel to Living for the First Time.


**Summary**: The continued journey of Rachel Berry, Noah Puckerman and their New Directions family as they handle new gleeks, old friendships, surprise siblings, love, a second run at Nationals and senior year. The sequel to Living for the First Time.

**Pairings**: Puckleberry, Bartie, Chang-squared, Samtana, Finncedes, one-sided Klaine. Puck/Rachel/Santana/Sam, Blamman, Faberry friendship.

**Warnings**: Caution, this fic may contain crude language and discussion of sexual activities. In other words, I have a potty mouth and watch way too many cable television shows! There may be spoilers for season three but I'm trying to avoid seeming anything like that season. So yeah….

**Disclaimer**: I don't own this show or anything related to this show. I wish I did because seriously Season Five is already a train wreck and it really only just started!

**Author's Note**: Hello all! Here we are the (apparently) long awaited and anticipated (really happy that people wanted this) sequel to Living for the First Time. I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

**This Is the New Year**

Puck was more than aware of the eyes rabidly following him as made his way to his newly assigned locker. He could care less about the gossip happy idiots he called classmates. If they had nothing better to do than watch him for signs of some sort of imaginary impending mental breakdown that sounded like a personal problem. He wasn't up to putting on a show for them. He carefully ignored them, intent on placing his stuff in his locker and starting off the school year. He wasn't going to feed into the hype. Too bad not all of his friends got that same memo.

"Hey," Finn greeted flatly as he slumped all eighty feet of his body against the locker next to Puck's. The locker that apparently belonged to Mike. The dancer merely shoved Finn over and opened his locker. Finn grunted as Puck also forcefully shifted him to the side and continued to root around in his locker. Finn glared at them both. Puck at least managed to smile apologetically. Mike flipped Finn off and grinned. "Hello to you too, Mike."

"Don't start," Mike warned. "I'd be a whole lot more sympathetic to your whole post breakup woes if you didn't feel the need to call at weird hours of the night to whine about something that happened two months ago! Because seriously at what point do you start to just get over it already?"

Puck closed the door to his locker somewhat to give Mike an incredulous look. "That's seriously the most words I've ever heard you string together at once. I guess you spending time with Blaine worked out after all. Too bad you still fail at empathy."

"Who taught you the word empathy?"

"Screw you, Chang!"

Mike grinned before peering around Puck to face Finn. "Dude, I know it sucks that Mercedes dumped you but you gotta shake it off, bro."

"Ninja Star is right. It's our senior year!" Puck chimed in. "The glee club is not on the bottom of the social food chain anymore. Things are actually starting to look up. I don't know about you guys but this is looking like it's actually going to be a great year."

"You talked to Rachel this morning, huh?" Finn asked, grinning slightly.

"No, actually. We're sticking to the whole not talking until the first day nonsense. I just feel like… big things are going to happen this year. Last year was good. This year will be better."

"Spoken like a true lead," Finn teased with a smile. Puck stuck his tongue out at his friend.

But under the good natured teasing, Puck was relieved that Finn did not seem to hold this whole make Puck the new lead of New Directions idea personally. Not that he believed that Finn's feelings would have any effect on Jesse. The show choir assistant coach/Puck's personal tyrant was true to his word. He worked Puck's ass off during the summer. But Puck was quietly grateful. It was a suitable distraction from the suddenly Santana/Rachel-less summer as well as his ongoing struggles with the surly Jake. So Puck was grateful… didn't mean he wanted to murder the guy any less.

"Why is everyone staring at us?" Mike asked, finally noticing the not at all subtle looks.

"Jacob updated his usual beginning of the school year stalker blog," Finn reported, crossing his arms over his chest and staring back at the people staring at them. "He figured out that Puck and Rachel haven't seen each other in over a month and determined that they broke up."

"Ah, so everyone is waiting for the breakdown?" Mike grinned.

Puck snickered. "There's actually a poll on his site wondering how long until I end up back in juvie. Also how long it will take Rachel and Finn to get back together."

Finn also laughed though his smile turned mournful as Mercedes passed them by. Her arm was looped through the much larger arm of one of the newest Titans, Shane Tinsely. Puck sympathized with his former best friend turned ex friend turned friend once again (it was really complicated). He started to say something when the conversations around them abruptly halted. He was vaguely aware of Jacob and his camera hovering around him suddenly but it all became a part of the background at the sound of his name coming from a very familiar mouth.

"Noah!"

He felt the world tilt back into place with the sound of that voice. A smile spread across his face as he saw his beloved midget diva for the first time in over a month and a half. She ran towards him and he stepped forward to meet her part of the way. His arms easily wound around her waist even as her hands were pulling his willing and ready lips down to meet hers in a deep kiss. He smiled against her lips even as he pulled her impossibly closer.

"Missed you," he whispered. She smiled in return.

"Missed you more," she replied, running her hands through his hair. "We survived."

"Yeah, but let's not do that separating thing anymore. Or at least let's not cut off all contact. I'm kind of addicted to you, babe. I don't know if you know that but I need my Berry fix at least five times a day. Probably more, so much more, babe."

Rachel giggled. "Really? I would've thought Jesse would've kept you so busy you wouldn't have time to miss me. Jesse must be losing his touch."

"Despite his best efforts, St. Dictator didn't kill me," Puck grumbled, letting her go when he felt someone hit him on the back of the head. He smiled as he recognized the blow. And what did it say about his mental and emotional state when he was starting to recognize his friends by the level of physical abuse they inflicted on him. What did it say about his mental and emotional state that Jesse St. James was considered to be one of his friends? "And look who it is, it's St. Dictator!"

Jesse rolled his eyes and pointedly ignored Puck in favor of greeting everyone else. Puck noticed with a grin that the former Vocal Adrenaline member exchanged fist bumps with Finn and Mike and a brief hug with Rachel. The grin dropped at the next words to leave his mouth. "So heads up, losers, there will be practice this afternoon. We're working choreography."

"Choreography? Don't you just mean your psychotic dance camp?" Puck whined.

Even Mike didn't look excited at the idea. Finn was also frowning. "It's the first day, dude. Give us some time to like settle in and stuff before you try to murder us through the use of dance and today's greatest pop hits."

"Look, you guys were second at Nationals. If you want to be number one, you're going to need to put in more effort than ever before."

"Blah, blah, work harder, blah, blah, no life, blah, blah," Puck managed to get out before Jesse elbowed him in the side. He smirked, darting behind a laughing Mike to avoid any further abuse. And despite the scowl on Jesse's face, Puck knew he was just as amused. Yeah a lot of things changed over the summer but Puck had to admit that he was ok with them. Even with Jesse.

Although there was one change he was not really ok with and it was currently coming towards him looking like death warmed over. So in other words, exactly how he looked all summer.

"The prodigal Sam returns," Mike announced as Sam and Blaine approached the group of seniors. Sam yawned, while blearily glaring at his friend. "Seriously, I was starting to wonder if you'd even be in school since we didn't see you all summer."

"It wasn't all summer," Sam protested, running a hand over his face tiredly. "Wait, was it?" Blaine nodded beside him, giving him an odd, yet knowing look. Sam frowned. "Oh, sorry, guys."

Puck arched an eyebrow but let it go… for now. Sam really had been acting strangely all summer. At first, Puck thought it might've been because of the whole his family was almost homeless thing. But thanks to intervention from his uber nosey and totally bossy friends, that situation was barely a blip on the Evans' family radar. Puck also thought the whole Santana being away thing might've contributed to his distance but it really didn't in the end. Mike was only slightly exaggerating when he said that they hadn't seen Sam all summer. More like they hadn't seen him for more than twenty minutes here and there all summer. The blonde was missing in action. When he was around, he seemed exhausted and stressed out. But he claimed that everything was fine. Clearly it was not.

But Puck let it go until a time when he could corner his best friend and force him to talk. Something was obviously going on with Sam. And for some reason he didn't trust them enough to share what it was. It kind of hurt a little actually. And if he was noticing it, then most of the rest of the glee club was bound to be noticing it as well. That wouldn't do well for promoting harmony in the group. They'd managed to build a family like environment in recent months. Puck really didn't want to go back to the way they were. Wait, oh crap…. Was he really actually thinking about the overall good of the glee club?!

"I hate you so much, St. James!"

* * *

Despite his concerns for Sam, Puck found the day was going pretty smoothly. Maybe it was because this was the first time that they were all back together in three months, but it wasn't a terribly bad day. That is until his free period right before their first glee practice of the New Year when he got a frantic phone call from his stepmother. Since the revelation that he had another younger sibling, Puck was doing his best to get to know the unruly brat… the one wasn't Sarah. Jake was an interesting mix of angry yet receptive. He never seemed to want Puck to go away but he didn't always seek him out either. Then again, Puck was all too familiar with his mindset. His little brother was a carbon copy for him at that age. Complete with…..

"_Jake got in another fight. They're talking about expelling him already. I can't leave work again, Noah. If I do, I lose my job. I just don't understand why he does these things!" _

"Sadly, I do," Puck sighed. "Don't worry about it. You put me down as an emergency contact for him, right?"

"_Yes, when we registered last week. I put both you and Debra down as emergency contacts for Jake. I also put down Rachel's fathers like you asked." _

"Awesome. Look, don't stress. I'll go pick the brat up and talk to him. Maybe he'll tell me what's going on. I really thought he'd settle down once school actually started."

"_That's what I thought too. It's what I always think,"_ she sighed. _"Thank you, Noah. But are you sure he's not going to be interrupting anything? I can find someone else…" _

"It's cool," he assured her. "That's what I'm here for. I'm not doing anything Jake can't be a part of. I apparently have glee club practice today but he knows everyone there and Jesse actually tolerates him. So it's ok. I'll get him and drop him off later tonight."

"_Thanks, Noah. Really. Thank you so much."_

After a few more expressions of gratitude and reassurances, Puck finally hung up and went in search of one of his friends. He knew he would be back long before practice started but he didn't want anyone looking for him in the meantime. He remembered that Blaine had a free period that afternoon while he was waiting to change one of his classes. So he went looking for him. Instead he found Kurt lingering by Blaine's locker. After a few uncomfortable minutes, Puck just gave the message about him leaving to Kurt and all but ran out the door towards the parking lot.

He knew that Kurt was getting a little obsessive over his relationship (or lack thereof) with Blaine but stalking the dude by his locker seemed a bit too crazy… even for Kurt. Still Puck respected Blaine for not just giving in. He spent a lot of time with the former Warbler over the summer and they actually talked about his ongoing will he/won't he thing with Kurt. Blaine admitted that it would be easy to date Kurt and fall in love with him but he didn't know _why_ he should. He couldn't come up with a single reason why they should be together other than they were both out and around one another. Puck hated to admit it, but Blaine had a point. And ever since that revelation, Blaine was doing his best to avoid Kurt because he didn't want to hurt his feelings. That's why Puck wasn't that surprised to see Blaine sitting on top of his truck. He raised an eyebrow. Blaine shrugged. That was all that was said as the two boys got in Puck's truck and drove away.

"So what happened with Jake?"

"He's fighting. Again. You hiding again?"

Blaine sighed. "I just… I know how he feels about me. And I'm reasonably sure how I feel about him. So I get it. But I just don't feel the same way, you know? I wish I did but… I don't. He's a good friend but that's all he is. Plus I don't really want to get involved with someone that's leaving in a year. He'd probably get to New York and forget all about me and we'd end up breaking up anyway."

Puck grinned, glancing at his friend out the corner of his eye. "Given this a lot of thought, huh?"

"A bit," Blaine laughed. "I don't know. I just don't think it's going to work. Things are really good with everyone but I feel like it would get really ugly really fast if something were to go wrong between us. And I don't want that. So I don't even want to try."

"Understandable. And you're right. You're my boy. You know I got your back no matter what, right?"

"Duh," Blaine retorted, leaning back in his seat. "So what's the plan with Jake? I know you're thinking about something."

"I have no clue honestly. That boy is way too much like me at his age."

"So basically what you're saying is that we need to find him a Rachel and get him to join a glee club. That should probably mellow him out."

"You're so not funny. I have no idea what Kurt sees in you."

"That makes two of us."

The rest of the drive was made in companionable silence that was occasionally broken by both boys singing softly to the radio. They finally pulled up to Jake's school about fifteen minutes later. Puck got out the truck but not before telling Blaine to leave the engine running in case they needed to make a quick escape. The fact that Blaine actually did leave the engine running demonstrated just how much of a joke that comment wasn't. He shook those thoughts as he made his way down the twisting halls of Grover Cleveland High School. He saw students in their classes, a few loitering in the hall ways but there was only one that caught his attention. He stopped short and let out a quiet sigh.

When he first met his brother he was surprised by how they looked both totally different yet sort of the same. They both inherited their looks from their deadbeat father. But whereas Puck was almost a carbon copy of him, Jake was able to get something from his mother. The only thing that Jake had from his father were his eyes. Sometimes Puck wondered if that was a good or a bad thing. On the one hand, it wasn't until Jake told people his last name was Puckerman that anyone even realized he was remotely related to the town's pariah. But on the other hand, Aaron Puckerman didn't get through life on his limited charm or personality. No, he got by his big, brown eyes that could make even the coldest hearted of people forgive him for his many transgressions. And Jake inherited them along with a perpetual baby face that Puck knew Jake would be grey and old before he outgrew.

Right now his little brother was sitting hunched up on the bench just outside the principal's office. Puck could see that there was a bruise around his right eye and his hands were bruised around the knuckle area. So it was a real fight. He looked around and found that Jake was the only out there. Interesting. He filed that away for future reference before crossing the room quickly to sit beside his brother. Jake looked up in surprise and something akin to gratitude before he shut down his emotions.

"Why are you here?" he asked by way of greeting.

"Why do you think?" Puck countered, grabbing Jake's bruised hand in his. The fact that he let him showed how out of sorts Jake was at the moment. "So what happened this time?"

"Nothing. I got in a fight. The end."

"Dude that stuff might've worked on your mom but it's not going to work with me. I've been there, done that, said that and had enough time to try it again. So what happened? And why are you the only one that's catching the heat?"

"Principal's son," Jake replied flatly after a few long minutes. Puck turned to look at him. Jake sighed. "He's an asshole. He was picking on one of the lunch ladies in the cafeteria. She's a little bit bigger than the rest but she's nice. She gave me extra cookies last week during the orientation."

Puck sighed, giving Jake's hand a gentle squeeze before letting go. "You told your mom?"

"I tried, but all she hears is that I got in another fight. She doesn't want to hear anything else. I guess I don't really blame her," Jake admitted. "I'm going to end up just like him, aren't I?"

"No," Puck said, firmly. "You're nothing like him. And you never will be. Mostly because you have enough common sense to actually wonder if you're going to be like him." Jake cracked a small smile. "Look, I don't know what to do about this school situation. The principal will likely make a decision tomorrow whether you're coming back or not."

"I hate this place. But it doesn't really matter where I go. Dad has managed to piss off the whole town pretty much. Everyone knows who I am before I even open my mouth."

"Good old Dad sure knew how to leave a lasting legacy for his kids, huh?" Puck said, nudging him with his shoulder. He stopped short when he heard Jake wince. "Where does it hurt?"

"I'm fine."

"Now where have I heard that before? What did I say about I've been there, done that and it sucks going at it alone?"

"Just drop it, Noah."

Puck sighed. "Let me tell you a little story. My first week of high school, I got in a total of ten fights with the football players that kept making fun of Rachel. Mom didn't want to hear why I was fighting. She just knew that I was and it hurt her. I was tired of her hurting and I was tired of all the jerks at school… so I stopped fighting them. I became them. And it sucked. A lot. Because by default, you're alone without anyone you can trust or care about. I thought I had to do everything alone. And I was miserable. I was a miserable bully."

"But now you're like the de facto leader of the big freak procession in your school."

"I know, and it's awesome," Puck grinned. Jake rewarded him with another small smile. Just then the door to the Principal's office opened, revealing a short, stout man with a balding head. Puck raised an eyebrow, already feeling terribly overwhelmed.

"You're not Tanisha Williams."

"How observant," Puck mumbled. "No, I'm Noah Puckerman, Jake's brother."

"Ah," the man replied.

"You know, it might just be my common sense kicking in, but isn't it polite to also gave a name during introductions?" Puck mused. "What do you think, Jake?"

"Uh, yeah," Jake replied, hesitantly.

"I am Principal Chandler Harris and I need to speak to Jake's parent or guardian."

"Well, his parent is busy at work, so you're talking to his guardian in absentia. I'm practically eighteen, not that it matters to you because his mother basically told you all that you could tell me what's going on with him. So let's go. I'm ready to hear all about how horrible Jake is."

Principal Harris flushed a bright red before clearing his throat. "This is the third physical altercation that your brother has been in during this school year. And it's only just begun."

"Yeah, and yet I don't see the other kids involved in this. Are they being punished as well?"

"That's not related to your brother."

"And yet, I think it is. Jake might not feel the need to tell you but I will. He was only fighting because he stood up to a bunch of students that were bullying a member of your staff. I don't know if that's the type of thing you get up to in this school but it doesn't sound like what Jake did was so bad. Yet, he's sitting here bruised and on the verge of being expelled."

The man opened his mouth to reply but Puck cut him off. It really didn't matter. Because in that moment, he finally realized what he was going to do with his brother. It was obvious that Jake needed guidance. Jake needed support. And he wasn't going to get it here. At least with him in the same building every day, Puck could keep a better eye on him.

"Clean out your locker, squirt. You're done here."

"Excuse me?" Harris blustered.

"You heard me," Puck stood up to his full height. "I'm exerting my right as his sometimes guardian and I'm sure his mom will back me up. Clearly Grover Cleveland High School is not the environment that can handle individuals like my brother. That's fine because William McKinley is that type of place. So as if this moment, we're requesting a transfer. He's not your problem anymore." Jake looked up with wide eyes but hurried to do as Puck suggested. Once he was sure his brother was out of ear shot, Puck leaned closer to the principal. "Mr. Harris, you would do well to mind that son of yours. If I even think I see him near my brother, it's not going to be Jake that has all the bruises."

"Are you threatening me?"

"No," Puck grinned. "I'm making a promise."

With that said he walked over to the sign in/out book and signed his brother out of that school for the last time. He met up with him at the entrance to the school. The kid was shuffling his foot back and forth anxiously as he waited for Puck.

"You sure about this?"

Puck grabbed his brother's bag and slung his free arm around the younger teen's shoulders. "Never been surer about anything before, kid. Now come watch your brother make a fool out of himself in St. Dictator's Nazi Dance Camp."

Jake pulled a face. "You are kinda bad."

"Shut up!" Puck snapped, pushing Jake into the backseat. Blaine gave him an amused look even as he nodded in greeting to Jake.

"Why are you telling Jake to shut up?"

"Because I pointed out that Puck really does suck at dancing."

Blaine tilted his head to the side, seemingly in thought. "Well, he does have a point."

"I will toss both your asses out of this car."

* * *

Puck accepted that he was never going to be a great dancer. Or possibly even a good one but at least after dealing with Jesse all summer he now passed for decent. He silently cursed the day his doctor traitorously agreed that dancing was the perfect physical therapy as it would help him get back in shape and competition ready. What good was it being in a car accident and almost dying if you couldn't milk it for all that it was worth and get out of a glee club tyrant's daily torture sessions? Still… Puck had to admit that his dancing had improved during the summer. He was also starting to regain some of the muscle he lost after the accident and the less strenuous activity. Even the migraines were decreasing. And it wasn't that he was alone in the dance torture during the summer. He frequently had Mike, Finn, and Blaine to keep him company. So maybe there was something to this whole dance as physical therapy thing. But let the record show Puck was actually quite satisfied with his current level of dancing skills and didn't really feel that he needed to improve on that. Too bad he was alone….

"Seriously, Puckerman, at least attempt to keep up," Jesse chided from where he stood next to a simultaneously horrified yet impressed Will. "If you don't, I swear I will throw you in the slow class."

Puck glanced around the auditorium stage at the rest of the glee club. They were separated into three "classes": the great, the decent and then the others… or the slow group as Jesse was fond of calling them. Puck knew it was only by the grace of his Jew god that he was spared from the latter category. Well that and the fact that he was slightly better than Finn (who still hadn't mastered control over his too long limbs). He was definitely better than Kurt and his awkward, out of sync movements. At least Puck moved to the beat of the music. Rounding out the rest of the other group were Lauren and Dave. The decent group was composed of him, Sam, Tina, Quinn, Mercedes and Artie (and no, Puck wasn't going to question the logic in that one). The greats were, of course, Brittany, Mike, Rachel, Santana and Blaine. Needless to say their section wasn't getting any criticism. Neither was Artie. Actually Jesse was considering promoting him to the greats. And Puck _still_ wasn't going there.

He was drawn out of his yet another round of questioning Jesse's sanity by a not at all muffled laugh from the front row seats. He glared at his little brother but couldn't help but smile. As soon as they got back to the school, Jake called his mother. She was also in agreement that it would make more sense for him to attend McKinley as well. At any rate, Jake was seemingly less anxious about the decision now. Though that might have had something to do with the Cheerios that checked him out as they walked to the auditorium. Puck was so going to have to keep an eye on that.

"Alright, take a break," Jesse yelled. "And seriously, Hudson, drink some Gatorade or something. You look like you're about to pass out."

Puck snorted even as Finn walked away muttering under his breath about dictators. Puck took the opportunity to kneel at the front of the stage directly in front of Jake. "And just what are you laughing about over here?"

"You got no moves, bro!"

"Yeah, well…. If you think it's so easy, why don't you try it?"

He expected Jake to back down. Even the few times that he joined them over the summer in their Dance Camp torture sessions, Jake hadn't expressed any interest in dancing. But right now, he was meeting Puck's challenging gaze with a secretive smirk. Puck couldn't help the warm, fuzzy feeling he got seeing that smirk. It was so much like his own when he knew something someone else didn't know. This was going to be interesting. He held a hand and helped pull his brother on the stage.

"Ok, so let's make this interesting," Puck grinned, slapping his hands together. "You've been watching the routine, right?" Jake nodded. "Awesome. I challenge you to keep up with Mike."

"Is that really fair?" Quinn protested. Puck shrugged. He had no idea if Jake could dance or not but he knew that Jake wasn't backing down. Either he was really stupid or… really good. Puck grinned. He had a feeling it was definitely the latter.

"Hey, Ninja Star. Twenty bucks says my brother more than keeps up with you."

Mike shrugged. "I'll take that bet." Soon the others were more or less betting as well. Will gave up a long time ago and retreated to the seats. Puck could occasionally hear him muttering about how he completely lost control of his own glee club. He just wondered when Will ever had control. Gambling and making bets were actually some of the more benign activities they'd engaged in during the past year. He looked up at Jesse announced that the bets were closed. It seemed that most went with the logical bet. Puck had a feeling his little brother was about to get him a lot of money. He was not wrong.

Though they had very distinctive and different styles, Jake was, as he predicted, more than able to keep up with Mike. Even Mike seemed a little surprised by how fluidly the younger Puckerman moved. Puck knew his (and several others) jaw was hanging open but he was also watching with pride. Because those moves were definitely something else Jake got from his mother. Because Aaron was even worse than Puck at dancing.

"Holy crap!" Puck exclaimed when Mike finally (read reluctantly) conceded to Jake. "You're good. You're really good!" Jake flushed, shrugging a little but not hiding the happy smile on his face. "No, seriously where did you learn to dance like that?"

"Mom signed me up for ballet lessons when I was a kid. We couldn't afford the karate lessons. And it was sort of fun. Guess the lessons kinda stuck."

"I'll say," Santana murmured appreciatively. "You do know this mean you have to audition for New Directions now, right?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, nepotism and that baby face of yours are only going to get you so far."

Jake rolled his eyes. "No, I meant… you really want me to audition? You would want me to be in the glee club with you?"

"Oh," Puck swallowed. "Of course, I would want you to join. But it's your choice. I'm definitely not going to force you to join if you don't want. But if you sing even half as good as you dance, we got Nationals in the bag." Jake gave another one of his happy smiles and Puck didn't fight the urge to hug him anymore.

Puck wasn't lying before when he said that he thought this would be the best year of their lives. Granted last year had a few ugly bumps in the road but they ended in a good place. Thanks to Dave, Sam, Mike, Finn, Lauren, Santana and Puck, the frequent glee club directed bullying attacks were a thing of the past. They all got along with one another. They actually supported one another these days. It was a miracle. And it was only going to get better with Jake coming on board. Yeah, this was going to be a great year and Puck was determined not to let anything take that away from him.

The auditorium door opened and closed with a solid echoing thud. No one paid it much attention as they assumed it was Emma or Coach Bieste. It wasn't until she spoke that they realized that it was neither of the women. Her voice sent chills down the spines of five of the people assembled in the room.

"I like what you've done with the group, William," the woman said, ignoring the shocked stares. "And I can't believe you got Jesse to work with you. Very impressive."

"What… Shelby?! What are you doing here?" Will stuttered, his gaze flickering over Puck, Jesse, Rachel and Quinn.

"You really should pay more attention in Figgins' morning meetings. I'm teaching here this year." Shelby smiled. "I'll be teaching Music." The smile faltered as she realized the four teens were still staring at her. "Isn't someone going to at least say hi?"

Rachel was the first to snap out of her stupor. She opened her mouth to say something before running off the stage. Puck sighed, letting go of his brother to chase after her. He missed the intruder's calculating look as he ran past her. His only focus was getting to Rachel and helping her through this. He didn't need to look to know where she was. He found exactly where he knew she would be: in the choir room. She was sitting at the piano. He took a seat beside her.

"You know Brad is going to murder you if he catches you here."

"No," Rachel sniffled. "That's only you, Sam and Blaine. Because you two like to eat on the piano." She took a deep breath. "This was supposed to be a good year."

"It still could be."

"Not with her around. Why is she here, Noah? Why does she always come around when I'm finally starting to get over the idea of her?"

"I don't know, babe," he whispered, kissing the side of her head. "Please don't let this bother you, Rachel. I don't know why she's here or what she wants but it doesn't matter. We're going to have a great year. And your kind of totally insanely manipulative and confusing mother is not going to get in the way of that, I promise."

Rachel took a deep shaky breath before tilting her head to meet his gaze. "What about you? Are you ok with seeing her? I mean…. Beth."

Puck felt his heart seize at the mention of his daughter. "I guess… I don't know. I really don't know what to think right now." It was Rachel's turn to kiss him. He felt the corners of his mouth turn up. "But whatever I feel, I know that I have you by my side."

"Always," Rachel promised.

"Don't forget about us," Quinn chimed in as she and the others made their way in. "We're all in this together. We're a family, remember?"

"Yeah," Puck grinned, hugging the blonde. "Yeah, I guess we are. So where is Shelby anyway?"

"In the auditorium trying to out-ego Jesse," Mercedes giggled. "She's losing. Mr. Schue seems like he's torn between trying to reel Jesse in or just laughing."

"Pretty sure he was just laughing by the end," Sam added with a grin. Blaine nodded even as they both jumped up on the piano, sitting there like they belonged there.

Puck smiled softly as they all started talking over one another again. Some of them were speculating about why Shelby was there. Some of them were wondering about the following day's auditions. Some were coaching Jake on what to sing (and he really needed to work on Kurt's inability to recognize and accept straight men and also seriously, he's flirting with his little brother?!). It was chaotic but beautiful. Shelby was going to be a bump in the road. But she wasn't going to ruin this year. Nothing was going to ruin this.

"What the hell are you brats doing on my piano?!"

Well nothing except for Brad.

* * *

*And so ends the first chapter of This is 18. Hope you guys enjoy. I can't guarantee when the next update will be up. I've got a lot of ideas buzzing around my head at the moment. But just know that I definitely have an outline of how this story is going to go and it's pretty epic. So it will be continued! Ciao for now.

Also…. Happy New Year!


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